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@Intuit i taten garant itin.

CHARLES N. AGKERSN, OF BATH, NEW YORK, AND W.v D. HARRAH, OF DAVENPORT, IOWA,'A SSIGNDRS TO J. C. DELANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

Leners Palm: ivo. 66,668, dated .my "1c, 1867.

` IMPROVEMENT 1N FOLDING GATES.

TO ALL WHOMv IT MAYCON CERN:

Be it known that we, (imanes N. Ackunsow, ofBath, in the county of Steuben, State of New York, and

W. D. HARRAH, of Davenport, in the countyot Soott, and State of Iowa, have invented an Improvement in Folding Gates; and we do .hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part ot this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a perspectiize view of the improved gate when close r Figure 2 is a similar view-of the gate when open.

Figure 3 is a sectionalvew of the latch and unlatching device. Figure 4 is a view showing one of they spring nbutments and slotted guides upon one of the supporting posts. Similar letters-ot' reference indicate corresponding parts 'in the several iigurs.

This invention relates 'to certain novel improvements on thecoustruction and. operating of the folding picket v gate which was s'ecuredlby Letters Patent to W. D. Harrah; on the 20th day of Septembenvll; the main object of which improvementis to a'ord a more substantial and durable support for such u gate when it is open and also when it is closed, and to provide for sustaining the gate against lateral strain, and protecting it against ,injury by passing andrepaasingobjects, as will be hereinafter described.

Another object of our invention is to provide for relieving the gate from jm` andfinjury, when suddenly opened, by the employment of'spring'sor elastic cushions, so arranged as to-'orm nbutments for the loaded end of the top rail, when this rail is thrown up to a vertical or nearly vertical position, as will be hereinafter described. 4

Another object of our invention is to employ self-opening anl closing contrivances,vin conjunction with a folding picket gate, for the purpose of allowing a person riding upon a horse or in a vehicle to open the gate upon approaching it, or to close the gate after passing through th'e opening, as will be hereinafter described.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand our invention, we will describe itsl construction and operation.` i

In the accompanying drawings, A A' represent the two parallel rails'of the gate, and B B' are the pickets, which are pivoted to the rails in planes parallel to each other, and-arranged, alternately, on both lsides of these rails, so as to admit of their being set asclosetogether as possible. The upper rail A is pivoted by a transverse .pira a, between two wide uprights C C, which form the gate-post proper, and this rail extends outward some distance from the pickets, and has a weight, D, secured upon it, as shown in the drawings. That .portion of rail A which is between the -uprights C vC, and also. that portion which carries the weight D, is considerably wider or thicker than that portion having the pickets'pivoted to it. The thickness of this portion of the rail between the uprights C C should be such as will aord all the strength required for Sustaining the other parts of the gate, and also admit the pickets to move freely between said uprights when the gate is opened, as shown in fig. 2.

The'rzril A should t snugly between the` uprights C, so that they will ai'ord good lateral stays and braces to the entire gate, whether it be open or shut. It will be seen that the uiprigbts G C are mada of an equal width from their l/ower to their upper ends, and that the lower part of the gate is brought between these uprights,'when it is folded .up,as shown in iig. 2. This mode of construction aiiords greater.` strength and a better lateralsupport for the gate than is the euse in the patent above referred to, where the pickets do not fall between the uprights forming the post. By Vhaving the rftils and pickets supported between the post-uprights, when the gate is opened, the uprights can be made of any desired height, and of such width as will completely protect the gate against injury bythe force of the wind, or by vehicles passing throughthe openinglld by tbisarrangement the stationary supernnmerary pickets which are found to be necessary in the patented gate above referred to are -i in my gate unnecessary.

The lower rail A is made'ot an equal thickness throughout its length, and it iS 0f such length ns to extend from the fastening-post-E into the space between the two post-uprigbts C C, where itis guided by n pin, o, working up and downin vertical slots which are formed by the narrow cleats b 6. These cleats b are secured upon the inner surfaces of the post-uprights, and at their lower ends, as shown in the drawings, o s t0 con. tract the space at this point, and thereby afford iirm lateral supports for the lower rail A', nswell asguides therefor. The free ends of the gate rails are supported laterally as well as vertically between Athe crotelxed l guides4 d d of the gate-post E, and on the outer s-ide of this post, near its upper end, a vertical spring-latch, Ae is secured, so that its bevelled noso will catch over the end of tho upper rail A, when the gate is shut, and thus fasten it down in plaeo. This spring-latch is made so that the rounded end of rail A will force it back, and then allow' it to spring over the rail by simply bringing the gate down' in place upon the post E. When the upper end of the latch e is pressed outward by hand the gate can be thrown up to a. verticalposition. On top of the rail A, and near its free end, is a longitudinally sliding plate, f, the object of which is to enable n person to unlatch the gate by drawing or striking upon the cord q between the posts G G. This cord is attached to the slidef, and passed forward overa roller, lt, which is enclosed in a recess formod in the rail A beneath said slide, as shown in fig. 3. From this roller the cord passes along through metal eyes, which are secured to the lower edge of the rail A, and is carried downward and passed through a pulley-bloek, lc, thence upward and passed through a pulley-block, c, on post G, and finally secured to the post G', as shown in the drawing, gs. 1 and 2. The pulley-block k should be attached loosely to some fixed object at the base of the fence, a proper distance from the gate-post C C; and the pulley-block 1: should be attached loosely to the post G, at such height from the ground as will allow of a person reaching that portion of the cord which extends between the two posts G G. When the cord g between the posts G G is quickly pulled, it will move the slidefforward against the latch e, and release the gate therefrom. If the cord is pulled with suicient force the gate will not only be released from its latch, but it will be thrown entirely open, as shown in iig. 2. Then, by again giving the cord between parts G G a steady pull, the gate may be closed and latehed. In one case the cord draws-tbe gate downward, and in the other case the loaded end of the gate rail A receives an impulse outward and upward. Thus by the movement of a single cord the gate maybe unlatched and opened, or shut and latched.YA When the gate is opened quickly the weight D will 4acquire such momentum that it would strike tbe post-uprights C C with considerable force upon heilig suddenly arrested, were it not for the springs S, one of which we have shown in iig. 4. These springs are secured in such positions that they receive and breuk the shock caused by -the sudden descent of the weight D, and thus allow the gate to assume its upright folded position without strain upon its joints, and without jar or injury or liability of breaking o` the weight. On the gates for use we make a groove or gutter in the lower edge ofthe rail of suilicient size to carry the cord, which is confined in the groove by means of straps across the groove or wire staples, or any mechanical construction answering the purpose.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is, as an improvement on W. D. Harrah's patent gate,'dated September 20, 1864- l. The construction and arrangement of the several parts ofy the. within-described folding gate, all ope-rah ing together as herein set forth. y

2. The combination of slide f and latch e with a ord, g, arranged substantially as and for the purposes described. V

3. The slide f in combination with the spring-catch e, the said slide serving as a means whereby to force the spring e out of contact with the gate, substantially as described. r

. C. N. AGKERSON, Witnesses: W. D. HARRAH.

C. F. KrNGsLnY, as vto C. N. Acuensow. J. C. Dn LANY, r C. A. RENNENSNYDE, f

as to W. D. Hann/iu. 

